Mount Virtus

"Happy to come back to Michigan, but I miss the mountains!"

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Mount Virtus?

Every day is seeking to rise to the challenge, 'neath the shadow of the mighty Rockies.

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Sometimes the choices are daunting or confusing, sometimes they're as clear as a Mile High view.

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If I had five more writers just like him, I think my job would be the easiest in journalism....

1/12/2005 By Ben Leave a Comment

TABOR Watch: Day 1

Today is the first day of the new legislative session here in Colorado, as members of the House and Senate swear an oath to uphold the state constitution. They've come for your wallets, so hold on tight. Stay in touch with what's going on. Hold your elected officials accountable. Today is officially Day 1 of "TABOR Watch" from the lookout posts at Mount Virtus. TABOR, short for the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, approved in 1992 by the voters of Colorado to check the size of government. And it has worked successfully. Yet among many in the media and the center-left of Colorado politics have made TABOR the scapegoat for all the state's fiscal woes - ignoring the real problem of Amendment 23, which mandates a certain percentage of state … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General

1/12/2005 By Ben 1 Comment

Response from Telluride

From my recent post about the controversy in Telluride, I received a comment from the man under fire. I decided to give it more light by posting it here: Thank you for the kind words and thoughts. Here is an e-mail that we just sent out this morning. "Dear Friends, We have been informed that Telluride Ski and Golf Communications Director Maryhelyn Kirwan has begun a smear campaign against Al Heirich in an effort to divert attention away from the Telluride Cyberguide Family Posting controversy. This smear campaign is an effort to drive a wedge between our conservative Christian supporters and the Telluride Cyberguide. Do not let them do this. This issue is about nothing but our ability to notify parents and the subsequent (and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General

1/11/2005 By Ben 1 Comment

Vacancy Filled

In an earlier post I mentioned the vacancy committee's search for a Republican candidate to replace outgoing State Representative Don Lee of Littleton. Congratulations to Jim Kerr, the newest member of the Colorado House of Representatives - to be sworn in tomorrow with 64 of his colleagues. As for my friend Justin Everett, there may still be a future in elected office. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General

1/10/2005 By Ben 2 Comments

A Call to Action

Rob at It'sComeDown2This has sent out a call to action in defense of one Al Heirich of Telluride, who runs a website to help people set up ski vacations. Mr. Heirich has apparently stepped on the toes of the politically correct police by posting the following information about the upcoming Gay Ski Week (read the WorldNetDaily article): Although this week should be fun for those not offended by alternative lifestyles, with scheduled events including: The Pleasure Hunt, The Blue Ball Dance, Drag Races and more, we are strongly suggesting that families concerned with exposing their children to the homosexual lifestyle and homosexual behavior schedule their vacations another time. Events are planned throughout the week in both towns … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General

1/5/2005 By Ben 1 Comment

Filling the Vacancy

As I posted at length before, Colorado Republicans are trying to fill a legislative vacancy, after conservative Rep. Don Lee (R - Littleton) resigned in December. Seven candidates have announced to fill Rep. Lee's seat. Trying to separate himself from the pack, Justin Everett, 33, held a $50-a-person fundraiser last night, on the eve of the vacancy committee's final ballot. (Disclosure: Justin Everett is a personal acquaintance and political ally.) As Rocky Mountain News columnist Peter Blake points out, it may seem a strange affair to host a fundraiser before a vacancy committee selection, but Everett is boldly making a statement about his ability to perform a crucial political task. One of the reasons the GOP suffered in the state … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General

1/5/2005 By Ben Leave a Comment

Notice

Blogging will be light to non-existent in the next several days. Off to blustery Wisconsin for a family gathering. Keep reading the great work of the Rocky Mountain Alliance. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life

1/5/2005 By Ben Leave a Comment

Lessons from the Tsunami Aftermath

The massive natural disaster in South Asia 10 days ago was not only an immense loss of human life and an even greater multiplying of human misery. Those facts are profoundly obvious and stir at the heart-strings of any soul with an ounce of compassion. You can still give to World Vision (one of many organizations doing remarkable work in the ravaged countries) via the Rocky Mountain Alliance donation page. But the aftermath of the disaster and the earliest relief efforts have pointed clearly to some startling geopolitical changes in recent decades. Most remarkable seems to be the petulant whining of the United Nations relief agency. While the U.N.'s relevance and credibility gradually diminish, Euro-elitists like Jan Egeland and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, World Events

1/4/2005 By Ben 3 Comments

Birthday Wishes

The temperature drops. Several inches of snowfall loom on the Western horizon. The signs are clear, there's no mistaking: it's my birthday all right. Christmas, New Year's, Ben's birthday... all in succession. My earliest claim to fame was being "First Baby of the Year" in Clarkston, Michigan, for 19__. (Bonus points to the reader - not a family member or longtime close friend - who can guess the year: your trivia for the day.) The last time I paid a visit to the old hometown was 2002, and it has transformed from a cozy small town to a full-fledged upscale suburban bedroom community along the Interstate between Detroit and Flint. If you've got to live along that corridor, Clarkston is a nice place to be... trust me. Anyway, I've … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, My Life, World Events

1/3/2005 By Ben Leave a Comment

Lead on, Captain Ed!

Ed Morrissey of Captains Quarters - one of the premier blogs out there, for the uninitiated - is organizing a January 12 World Relief Day to help aid the victims of the South Asia tsunami. (Ed was on Hugh's show earlier to promote the effort.) How much of your take-home pay on January 12 can you donate to World Vision? - to make a real difference while also showing that this nation is not "stingy" like many European critics have falsely claimed. On a totally random different note... As we were walking into the office building this morning, Mrs. MountVirtus and I ran into Bob The Daily Blogster and his wife, who had come in to give blood. (The Bonfils Blood Center is on the 3rd floor of our building - The Independence Institute … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, World Events

1/3/2005 By Ben 2 Comments

Where’s the Outrage?

A guest column in today's Fort Collins Coloradoan brings up an excellent point: why can't we blame the state's budget crisis on the ill-devised Amendment 23? Especially when we see where some of that taxpayer money is going... Writer Paul Marrick explains the problem with his local Poudre School District: Our school board, in its infinite wisdom, decided many years ago to pay the majority of the union president's salary. That's right, folks, we as taxpayers funded almost $60,000 of a $70,000 salary last year so the local union representative could, among other things, campaign for our newly elected state Sen. Bob Bacon. Mary Lynn Jones, Poudre Education Association president, spent a great deal of time working on a political … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General

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About Me

Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

Recent Posts

  • AI-Enhanced Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Teen Innovation
  • My Baker’s Dozen of Top 2023 Reads
  • Common Learning Disabilities in Children
  • Tips to Teach Kids to Set and Achieve Goals
  • The Christmas Music Countdown You’ve Been Looking For: 2022 Edition

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Blogs Extraordinaire

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Completing the Blogroll

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Christian Commentary et al.

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Other Sites

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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